OK, Conan pretty much ROCKS

[Zulithe]

If you like the books (and you should), I recommend Dark Horse comic's Conan series. The comics are beautifully illustrated (honestly, some of the best art being done in comics right now) and are adapted directly from REH's stories.

Below is a link to a three page preview (plus cover) to issue #29, which came out today. You can get the trade paperbacks or hardcovers on amazon. They've also released several limited series lately.

http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=10-941

 

[Felon]

yeah, it's sad that such powerful ideas were linked with such virulent racial stereotypes.... in REH's stories, orientals are mysterious and insidious, Arabs/Turks/etc. are cruel slavers.... and blacks are given the worst treatment of all, being lazy, superstitious, prone to being mentally defective... I can recall only two 'honorable' black characters in all his works... one being the shaman in the Solomon Kane in Africa stories (sorry, his name escapes me at the moment), and the other being the warchief in "Black Vulmea's Vengeance"...

Don't try too hard to apply modern sensibilities to a guy who lived in the 1920's. He didn't have a Martin Luther King to break down his preconceptions.

Now, George Lucas--that guy's got no excuse.

 

[Swoop109]

the upcoming Kull book sounds cool. Any others planned in the series? I'd like to see collections of his general weird stories, historical action stories, El Borak, etc.... they could do quite a few...

Incidentally, I've been collecting these through the Science Fiction Book Club... in glorious hardcover....

While there has been no final confirmation as yet, there are currently two other collections of REH under consideration by Del Rey. As of this time there has been no mention as to the stories that would be collected in them.

Anyone interested in getting collections of Howard's lesser know works might want to check here, here, and if you want to listen, check here.

 

[Swoop109]

BTW, if your intrested in checking out the upcoming "Conan-The Ultimate Guide", then look at this sneak peek.

 

[Krelios]

For the record, the d20 Conan game is a BLAST too!

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Now, George Lucas--that guy's got no excuse.

Eh?!?

 

[Felon]

Eh?!?

(Lucas got some heat from minority organizations for assigning the traits of racial stereotypes to various aliens in the Phantom Menace and its sequels)

 

[Odhanan]

Robert E. Howard's stories ARE the real thing.

Sprague de Camp, the movies... these are pale imitations of the real thing!

 

[Orius]

We almost pulled out Kull the Conquerer on DVD (top that geekiness, EnWorld!) tonight, but got distracted by Old School on TBS.

Kull the Conquerer is another fun movie, but unfortunately, except for the scene at the end where

Spoiler

he smashes the ancient stone law tablets

, the character is just not REH's Kull. Not surprising, since the story has more in common with the Conan story "The Hour of the Dragon" than any of the Kull stuff.

One of my favorite moments from that movie:

Juba: "Those ropes are very strong."
Kull: (ripping up one of the ship's planks) "A pity your ship isn't."

 

[Chaldfont]

Kull the Conquerer is another fun movie, but unfortunately, except for the scene at the end where

Spoiler

he smashes the ancient stone law tablets

, the character is just not REH's Kull. Not surprising, since the story has more in common with the Conan story "The Hour of the Dragon" than any of the Kull stuff.

One of my favorite moments from that movie:

Juba: "Those ropes are very strong."
Kull: (ripping up one of the ship's planks) "A pity your ship isn't."

That movie has to be one of my guiltiest of pleasures. It's sooo cheesy. My favorite quote is when Tia Carrere channel's Darth Vader: "Pray I do not alter it further". More evidence that Kull the Conquerer is just someone's D&D session put to film.